


I was born a monster

by Cookietree



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Victorian, Alternate Universe - Werewolf, Boys' Love, Gay Panic, M/M, Slow Burn, Swords, very very slow build up
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-13
Updated: 2021-02-13
Packaged: 2021-03-12 23:22:29
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,731
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29392620
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cookietree/pseuds/Cookietree
Summary: An AU where the world is overtaken with werewolves, particularly in Victorian London. There is a twilight brigade of were-wolf fighters made up of Erwin, Levi, Hanji and others who accept Eren into their ranks, even if he is a very angry were-wolf boy himself. Eren eventually discovers that he can choose to transform into a wolf-like creature whenever he wants to, but he has no choice to transform into one on a night with a full moon. So, as humanity's strongest soldier, Levi is assigned to watch over him in case Eren gets out of control.Levi doesn't trust the brat at first, but as he grows to understand him, he can't help but develop a growing affection for Eren. Even when the rest of the world fears Eren as a monster because of his werewolf abilities, Levi had already feared and respected Eren for the monster he truly was. A monster he had been since he was born. A monster who will bow-down to nobody, forever unshackled and uncontrollable, by anything, apart from perhaps... maybe... love.
Relationships: Levi Ackerman/Eren Yeager, Mikasa Ackerman/Jean Kirstein
Comments: 2
Kudos: 10





	I was born a monster

**Author's Note:**

> Hello humans, I am so invested in the relationship between these two, they are both so alike in so many ways with their backgrounds and ideologies. In the show, even if there is nothing much romantic between them, they seem to have a really interesting relationship and really respect each other even with only a few interactions that they have so I wanted to explore an alternate universe where they have a lot more time to interact with each other and bond and see where they go. Ohohoho
> 
> Also any kind and constructive criticism on my writing or characterization would be greatly appreciated in the comments! Thank you very much for reading!  
> 

I am surrounded by rage, an all-consuming rage. I can barely think, barely breathe. There is only one thought in my mind. And, it can be summed up in a single word.

_Kill._

There have been times I have felt this rage before, but never this strong. It feels as though my entire body is on fire. Every nerve in my skin is prickling with hatred.

_I want to kill... I want to kill them all… those beasts… those monsters… I will destroy them..._

I can’t remember why I’m feeling this angry. Apart from this feeling, I cannot be sure of anything. There’s a thick wetness coming from my hands, gushing from beneath my nails to my elbows. My clothes are all ripped as if they have been slashed by a beast. Wretched screaming envelops my hearing, and I cannot see.

That is, until I finally open my eyes.

And then I realise I’m standing in a room full of corpses.

And I am the one that is screaming.

The only corpse that I recognise is my mothers. All of the others are hideously mangled. Their blood paints the walls red. The rancid smell is overpowering. I look at the floor and see a reflection painted in the blood from the moonlight. It is the face of a monster.

EREN!

_This cannot be my face._

_I did not kill my mother._

_I couldn’t have!_

I’m still standing in a dumbstruck terror. I don’t know what to do. My mother is dead. And I don’t know how. I don’t understand what is happening. I’m clutching my head, and something is cutting my face. I can tell that the there is blood all over me, and I don’t know if it’s mine or everyone else’s. The room seems to grow darker and the pain just won’t stop.

Eren!

Someone is pulling my hands away from me.

“Eren!”

A pair of familiar dark eyes look at me, they’re frantically searching my face. Are they frightened of me? Or are they frightened for me? It's hard to tell.

“Eren!”

My voice barely manages to come out in a hoarse whisper. “Mi…kasa..?”

Mikasa is holding onto my arms, staring at me intensely, being strong, despite the tears gushing down her face. She doesn’t seem to acknowledge my monstrous transformation. She only says, “We have to leave.”

I look at my mother, “But we can’t leave her,”

“She’s dead now and more of them could come here any minute.”

I feel an uncontrollable wave of emotion coming across me again, “I'M NOT LEAVING WITHOUT HER!”

Mikasa doesn’t try to reason with me any further, she just grabs onto my hand and drags me away. We run out of that room together, she keeps going forward whereas I cannot help but look back.

I take in the details of my mother’s pale face, familiar yet, unfamiliar. A ghost of her previous self. Her eyes that could comfort me before with a single gaze now could only stare blankly at the ceiling. Her mouth that had smiled and kissed my forehead yesterday, was left open in a silent scream. Blood pours out from a fist-sized hole in her chest and her body is left in a decaying crumpled heap. I want to scream, did I really do this to her? Could I have done that to my own mother? I suddenly pull back from Mikasa and she nearly trips over her feet.

“D-did I kill her?” I utter. I don't want to know, but I have to know.

Mikasa spins around abruptly, caught in shock at my sudden question.

I find that I'm suddenly not able to breathe properly, “DID I KILL HER MISKASA!?”

“No, Eren, you didn’t! It was….” she hung her head downwards, “the… monsters.”

I don’t respond at first, so she takes that as a cue to grab my hand and start running again. We’re practically falling down the stairs before we reach the hallway. I glimpse into the mirror, and I nearly look like myself again, except, I don’t recognise that look in my eyes.

Mikasa pulls open the door with the force of a storm and we’re met with the icy coldness of snow in the darkness. The faint glow from the oil-lamps seems to be the only light catching the snow since the moon has been covered over by a thick cloud.

“We need to find Armin and the others, we need to find somewhere safe,” Mikasa says in an absurdly calm voice.

I ignore her statement, “Mikasa, did I really kill all of those… monsters?”

She doesn’t look at me before she answers,“…yes”

“Then…” I feel my throat tightening up, and I find that my entire body is shaking uncontrollably and I can't breathe for the second time, “Why couldn’t I kill them before they killed my mum!?”

“I don’t know…”

“WHY COULDN’T I PROTECT HER!?” I sob, my knees give way beneath me. Despite being a monster, I couldn't save my own mother. I hate myself so much at this moment, I wish I could die.

“I don’t know, but Eren...”

A terrifying sound interrupts her, the sound of a howl. The gut-wrenching cry of a monster having just found its prey.

“EREN WE HAVE TO RUN!!” Mikasa screams before I can even think.

But now I can’t move, I stare transfixed at the heavens. Like a moth to a flame, I cannot look away. The cloud has swept past the moon again and somehow, I know what is about to happen next.

“Run… Mikasa…” I somehow make out whilst I still can.

“EREN!?”

“It’s happening again… you have to get away…”

“EREN NO!!”

I can’t resist it any longer, this urge to transform. It feels as though I have always like this, like a primal instinct. My blood is aflame with a frenzied heat and feels like it is inflating my entire body. It hurts, but in a good way, like a total release from stress in my muscles and a release of a massive spurt of energy. My skin is bristling and itches all over. I can feel my bones lengthening then popping back into place as I expand. I feel so unbelievably free. Detached from reality. I’ve forgotten who I am, but I don’t care. I just want to run in the cloak of a forest then rub against the soft scents of the trees. But, here, I'm only surrounded by the stink of human filth and pollution.

“EREN!!”

What is that sound?

“EREN!!”

I look behind me and see a girl screaming at me, I feel an urge to attack her, make her shut up because she’s hurting my hearing. But something stops me.

Mikasa… I don’t know how I know her name. But I know she’s someone I cannot dare hurt, let alone, kill.

“EREN!! BEHIND YOU!!”

Something takes a swipe at my face. The claws of a beast almost take an eye out. I can tell they are one of my kin, but when I see them, I only feel a rush of fury. An uncontrollable seething rage to kill as I had before. I could tell this creature was different to me. I was going to destroy them. They are larger than me though, and I feel like I’m weaker from transforming before. Before I can react, he grabs me by the middle then throws me into a wall with unbelievable force. Stabbing pain shoots through my stomach and I’m coughing up a combination of bile and blood.

“EREN!” Mikasa yells again at me in concern, she is running towards me, not noticing that it is now looking at her.

I throw myself in front of her, just as it is about to land an attack. I then bite at their neck, and they let out a horrible cry as they choke on their own blood before it sinks to the floor. I think's it's safe to assume that I have beaten them, but I can tell that this isn’t over yet.

Mikasa tries to grab my hand, but I flinch away from her, afraid that I will wound her with my new claws. They're extremely long and sharp. She grabs my arm instead, “We need to run,” she says again.

But I shake my head, I can sense that there are a lot more of them around us.

We are trapped.

Their haunting cries encircle us, both Mikasa and I were their game.

My heart starts pounding faster as their footsteps and ragged breathing grow ever closer. I tense up every single one of my muscles, ready to take them on. Mikasa tenses up behind me as well. One of them is getting so unbearably close, so close that I can see their fangs glinting in the darkness and their foul breath condensing in the icy air.

The moment is interruped by a human battle-cry and the shing of a sword slicing through a thick neck.

I realised that I hadn’t sensed the human before because he had come downwind from us. 

It’s hard to see in the darkness and the snow, but I can make out that this single man is making mincemeat of all of the monsters surrounding us. As he stands atop one of the slaughtered beasts, with his face turned away from us, the outline of his silhouette is suddenly illuminated by the moonlight as if he is some prince upon a grand stage. Adorned with a cape fluttering majestically behind him bearing the wings of freedom. I cannot help but stare, I’m completely awestruck. The man turns around slowly, his gaze dark and domineering as if he is trying to assess us. He points his sword towards me, and I only just notice that Mikasa has been standing in front of me as a human shield this entire time.

"Hey brats... what's going on here?" The man utters, his voice was deep and even.

And then I realise that we are surrounded again, not by beasts this time, but by humans. Suddenly, another cloud covers up the moon, and I feel all of my energy suddenly diminishing. It feels like it’s sapping all of my strength just to remain standing. I'm so tired. My claws are retracting, and my body is shrinking.

Before I realise it, I fall into the comforting arms of an empty blackness.


End file.
